The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
The materials used in making the various components of a vehicle can often be recycled. The process of recycling a vehicle is extremely complicated, as different sub-components and assemblies must be removed and disassembled. The efficiency of recycling efforts is dependent on the extent that components of distinct materials are separated from one another. For example, electrical components generate scrap metal and plastic, including wire, cable, conduit, cable trays, and connectors. If various wiring can be separated by wire type, such as between high-voltage power cable and low-voltage communications wire, the scrap of each type can be separately weighed and graded based on copper or aluminum content. Recovery rates vary for each wire type, so keeping wire types separate ensures the highest return for each wire type. However, electrical components are often difficult to disassemble. A wire harness, for example, may house numerous connections. Wires that cannot be separated from the housing of the connector in an acceptable period of time in view of the value of the material to be collected are often cut from the housing. The housing itself thus includes lost portions of wire and the electrical contacts.